Rumor Has It
by darkaccalia520
Summary: Rumors about our favorite crew are put to rest. Just a little protest against character bashing. First season, canon, one-shot. *COMPLETE*


**A/N: I promise I'm still around. Since it's summer, I have less time to write, and then I had some family things going on. I promise I'm working on updates to current stories, but in the mean time, I give you this. It's just a little protest against character bashing disguised as a story. I hope you like it.**

 **The story is set sometime after Abalon. The rest should be self-explanatory.**

 ** **Disclaimer:**** _ ** _ **SeaQuest DSV**_**_ ** **and its characters are not my creation. They are the creation of Rockne S. O'Bannon as a 1990's television series. This work of fanfiction is for entertainment purposes only and is not for financial gain. I am just borrowing the characters for a bit and promise to return them unharmed and in their original condition, maybe just a bit happier.****

 **Rumor Has It**

 _ **seaQuest**_

Lucas practically ran through the corridors towards the captain's quarters. He'd felt like he'd been waiting a lifetime for this when it really had only been two months; that was forever in teen time, though.

He turned the corner and practically collided with Ben.

"Whoa, where's the fire, kid?" Ben asked, taking a step back.

The teen ran a hand through his blond hair. "Sorry, I'm just excited. Today's the day I get the _Stinger_ keys back," he said with a grin. "And I've got plans with Nick and Julianna; the captain already said it was okay."

"Another lecture?" Ben asked with a wink.

Lucas rolled his eyes. "No, not a _lecture,"_ he replied, making air quotes around the word. "Pizza and a movie, and that's it. I've learned my lesson about lying."

"How very mature of you," Ben said, giving his arm a playful push. "Well, have fun, kid. See you later."

"Later," Lucas called as he gave a wave and hurried off, this time being more careful around the corners. He was actually thankful he didn't see anyone else; all he really wanted was to get the _Stinger_ keys and then get away from the _seaQuest_ for a little while. He was ready for freedom, and it had been a long time since he'd been able to hang out with kids his own age; the boat was finally close enough to the mainland where he could.

A few minutes later, he reached the captain's door, so he knocked, waiting for the captain to answer. He tapped his fingers on the door frame. "Come on, come on, come on."

"It's open," he heard the captain call, so he went inside, somewhat surprised to see the captain wasn't alone; he and the doctor were sitting on the small sofa, coffee cups in hand. He'd instantly felt a little awkward for interrupting them. "Uh, hi. I'm not going to stay... I just wanted the _Stinger_ keys."

Nathan stood and walked to his desk. "We wouldn't mind it if you did," he said with a wink. "But that's right; it's movie night." He opened the top drawer and took out the keys, tossing them over to Lucas.

"Thanks," Lucas said, catching them in the air and then stuffing them into his pocket.

"What movie are you going to see?" Kristin asked.

"I'm not sure yet. We thought we'd decide when we got to the theatre."

"Oh, well, have fun," she replied.

"And _stay_ out of trouble," Nathan added. "I don't want another call from the police in the middle of the night."

Lucas felt his cheeks grow warm as he flashed the captain a sheepish grin. "I promise, I don't plan on _finding_ any trouble. We're just going out for pizza and then seeing a movie. That's it, I swear." He paused. "What's my curfew?"

"Just be home at a decent hour," Nathan said, giving him a pat on the shoulder. "You're old enough to decide for yourself what that is."

Lucas' jaw dropped. "You're serious?"

Nathan and Kristin both laughed.

"Yeah, I am," Nathan told him. "You've really proven yourself these past couple of months. In fact, the doctor was just saying how responsible you've been in the lab."

Lucas turned his gaze to her, and she nodded, giving him a smile.

"We're really impressed with you, Lucas," she said. "You're turning out to be a fine young man."

"And since you're acting like an adult," Nathan continued, "I thought I'd treat you like one." He held up a finger. " _But_ if you go back to acting like a kid, we'll go back to treating you like one. Note the difference."

Lucas nodded. "I understand. I promise I won't let you down."

"Good," Nathan said with a nod. "Now, go; have fun, kiddo. Uh, I mean, _young adult._ "

"Thanks, I will," Lucas replied with a laugh, inching towards the door.

"Oh, and if you get back early enough, you should come back," Kristin told him. "It's poker night. You don't want to miss the captain beating the pants off Ben, do you?"

Lucas grinned. "It's always fun to watch, so I'll keep that in mind." He gave a wave. "Well, see you two later."

"Later," they both called as Lucas headed out the door towards launch bay, now even more excited than he was before. He couldn't believe it. He could stay out two or three AM if he wanted...or even later. He didn't need to report to the lab tomorrow, so he could stay out all night if he wanted. _"You're old enough to decide for yourself when that is."_ Those words were like music to his ears. He couldn't wait to tell Nick and Julianna all about it.

 _ _-sQsQsQsQsQsQsQsQsQsQ-__

 **Pearl's Pizza Parlor, Hawaii**

"Hey, guys!" Lucas said as soon as he saw his friend. He walked over to the corner booth where Nick and Julianna were. "Long time, no see." He sat down next to Julianna and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"Tell me about it," Nick replied. "Glad to see you've finally got back out into the real world, Frankenstein."

"Believe me, no one's more pleased than I am, _Wolfman_ ," Lucas replied with a grin. "I did a stupid thing and I had to pay for it, but I've apparently more than made up for it. I have to tell you-"

Julianna placed a gentle hand on Lucas' arm. "We already know."

Lucas' eyebrows knitted together. "What?"

Nick and Julianna shared a worried glance.

"We know everything, Lucas," Julianna said with a sigh, turning to face him. "I wish you'd have told us what was really happening to you. We would have helped you, but we want you to know we both care about you very much and starting now, we're going to make sure _no one_ ever hurts you again."

"What?" Lucas asked again with a shake of his head. "I don't know what you guys heard, but-"

"You need to get away from those monsters," Nick explained. "We're here to help you do that, buddy. We're here for anything you need. We hope you know that."

"I'm not sure I understand," Lucas replied, utterly confused. "I don't know what you guys heard, but no one is-

"It's all right here," Nick said, passing Lucas a magazine. "And this isn't the only magazine that talks about it. I can't believe you never told us."

Lucas' brow furrowed as he took the magazine from him. He then noticed it wasn't just _any_ magazine. It was of those supermarket tabloids; this particular one was entitled _The National Voice_. He gave a slight laugh. "You guys know most of the stuff in these rags isn't true, right?"

Julianna's bit her bottom lip. "That's what I had always thought before, too...that was until they printed a detailed article about what happened in NODE 3." She lowered her voice. "They got _everything_ right, Lucas."

"I tried not to pay too much attention to the publicity about it," Lucas replied. "I read one article and got angry because some idiot reporter blamed _us_ for what happened, not Mycroft." He frowned. "I didn't realize even the tabloids had picked that story up."

Nick shrugged. "You apparently miss a lot of what goes on in the world, living on that floating tin can. The NODE 3 article isn't the only thing they've printed about you, you know."

"What do you mean? I thought these sorts of magazines were mostly about celebrity gossip. We're far from celebrities."

"Tell that to the press," Nick said with a wink. "The UEO and the _seaQuest_ are hot news, apparently. Flip to page twenty-nine."

Lucas obediently did so and was shocked when he read the headline: _SeaQuest's Boy Genius Lives A Life Of Torture._ The article claimed that all the adults on the boat abused him, both mentally _and_ physically, the captain and the doctor being the ring leaders. They'd even claimed to have interviewed Secretary General Noyce and his parents. He pushed it away, too disgusted to be able to finish the article. "That's crazy," he muttered.

"I know you didn't mean for it to come out this way, but it'll be better now that it's out in the open. We can get you the help you _need_ ," Julianna said, placing her hand over Lucas' and giving it an encouraging squeeze. "I don't know how your parents could stand idly by and allow that to happen."

Lucas gently pulled his hand away. "No, I didn't mean it's crazy that it came out like this. I _meant_ it's crazy because it's not going on... _at all_. It's a pack of lies." He shook his head. "My parents wouldn't... I know they're never going to win any parent awards, but they'd never knowingly leave me in an abusive situation. It's _not_ an abusive situation."

Nick and Julianna exchanged another glance.

"He's in denial," Julianna said with a click of her tongue.

"You're not trying to protect _them_ now, are you? After the way they treated you?" Nick said, shaking his head. "You can't be serious about going back there."

"Lucas, I've already talked to my parents," Juliana added. "They've said they'll help you any way they can. It wouldn't be that difficult to get a restraining order. You don't have to be afraid of them. I promise we'll keep you safe."

"I'm not afraid of them because I have no reason to be. None of them have ever laid a hand on me. None of them would _ever_ lay a hand on me, especially the captain and doctor. And verbal abuse? No way. I'm not being abused. It's a lie; those are all lies. I swear it, and the _seaQuest_ is my home. I can't just leave everyone."

Julianna's jaw dropped. "Really?"

"You're not just saying that?" Nick added, eyeing Lucas carefully.

Lucas held up his hands. "I'd never lie about something like this. I'm telling the truth, I promise."

Nick took out his phone. "Guess we need to cancel that police escort then."

"Police escort?" Lucas repeated, his brow raised. "You seriously didn't?"

Julianna gave a sheepish smile. "Sorry, but we sort of did; we figured you needed protection while you were packing up your stuff. We got a lot of people involved, actually. I need to make a few calls, too. It won't take long."

Lucas chewed nervously on his bottom lip as he skimmed over the article again. He couldn't believe it. Learning the tabloids were writing about him was a bit of a shock, but learning they were printing blasphemous lies? He was absolutely floored. And if Nick and Julianna believed it, who _else_ believed it?

"...okay, thanks. Bye," Nick said, hitting a button on his phone and setting it down on the table. "Don't worry. It's all taken care of. I'm really sorry we thought..." He shrugged. "Look, I know magazines like this don't always print facts, but considering the NODE 3 articles..." He picked up the paper and pointed to a headline on the front cover. "I promise I don't really believe that Oprah married Big Foot, but when we saw several of these magazines had the same story about you? And the fact you've been MIA for two months..."

"Because I was _grounded_ from the _Stinger..._ and we haven't been near Hawaii in forever. And I've been busy _working_ instead of playing on the Internex."

"Well, Nick and I thought that was code for you were bruised and beaten and were being held against your will," Julianna explained, no longer on her phone either. She help up her hands. "I told my parents it was a mistake, so you don't need to worry."

"I'm sure they loved that," Nick said with a laugh.

"Yeah, well, I already got an earful on the phone," she replied. "And apparently, I'm in for an important lecture when I get home."

"Yikes, I'm sorry," Lucas muttered.

Julianna waved a hand. "It's not your fault." She looked at Nick. "It's ours. Besides, as long as I promise my parents it'll never happen again, I should be able to squeak by without being punished." She sighed. "I'm sorry we thought you were being abused. It's just when things like this are printed about you all the time..."

"Wait, all the time?"

Nick nodded. "Well, I did say these aren't the only articles we've seen about you and the rest of the _seaQuest_ crew. Some of them are pretty outrageous, but stuff like this?" He held up the magazine again. "Well, it's hard to know if it's true or not, especially when you're not very forthcoming about what really goes on there. Before we met in person, you'd told me how you were always being pushed around."

"I didn't mean _literally_ ," Lucas replied. "I meant...like my voice didn't matter. I'm the youngest person on that boat surrounded by a bunch of adults." He shrugged. "But a lot has changed since then, and things are much better now." He paused. "What other things do they say about us?"

"Why don't we eat first and then before we hit the theatre, we'll stop by a convenience store for you? That way, you can see for yourself," Julianna told him.

 _ _-sQsQsQsQsQsQsQsQsQsQ-__

 **Oasis Corner Market**

An hour and a half later, Lucas found himself standing before a magazine rack in the convenience store down the street from the pizza parlor. While Nick and Julianna were in the candy aisle, he leafed through every gossip magazine and found several articles about the _seaQuest_ crew. He found one claiming that the captain and the doctor were madly in love, even having photo 'evidence' of them kissing. There was another detailing a love triangle between Katie, Ben, and Commander Ford. Another claimed that Ben and the colossal squid had a love child. Another still claimed that Tim had married an alien. And the list went on.

Some of the articles seemed pretty outrageous, but some of them could have been true. Even Lucas couldn't be sure about the photo evidence concerning the captain and the doc; if they were a photoshop job, it was extremely well done. However, if the captain and doc were an item, surely he'd know about it...wouldn't he?

While he was searching through magazines, a hand on his shoulder startled him.

"Sorry," Julianna muttered. "I know you could probably spend all night here, but if we're going to make the eight o'clock showing..."

He nodded and neatly placed some of the magazines back on the shelf before gathering a small stack in his arms and walking towards the counter. "Let me just pay for these and we'll go. I figured the others should know what they're saying too."

 _ _-sQsQsQsQsQsQsQsQsQsQ-__

 **Cineplex**

They'd decided to see _Zombie World_ , a film about a group of humans trying to survive in a post-apocalyptic world overrun by zombies. Lucas had really wanted to see it, but he had trouble focusing. He couldn't stop thinking about all those lies published for the world to see.

 _How am I going to break the news to the others?_ he thought, taking a sip of his soda. Regardless if the rumors were true or not, no one liked finding out people were talking about them. But they had a right to know, Lucas reasoned, and they had to figure out how to put a stop to it.

He started to imagine how everyone would react to the news.

Well, Ben would probably laugh it off, at least where the colossal squid was concerned. But then there was that love triangle rumor... Katie was always a sensitive subject with him, so Lucas couldn't imagine he'd be very happy about it.

Commander Ford probably wouldn't be fazed. Nothing seemed to bother him, but that was his military training talking, Lucas knew. Would he be bothered by the love triangle headline, though? He shook his head after a few moments of pondering it. No way. Ben, Katie, and the commander were just friends and nothing more, so he doubted he'd be too concerned.

Katie? Lucas couldn't quite tell with her, but he guessed she might just laugh it off, same as Ben...at least around everyone else. Lucas had a feeling she might be more bothered by it than she let on, though.

He guessed Tim would most likely laugh off the alien marriage thing as well. Who wouldn't?

The captain and the doctor would probably do the same about the romance rumors, but he could see the doc being a little embarrassed about it all.

At the end of the day, though, the worst rumor was the abuse, and Lucas couldn't imagine anyone being too happy about it. _He_ was angry about it, so he wouldn't expect anything less from them.

 _I'll have to tell them about that one last,_ he decided. _They certainly have a right to know in case anyone were to ever bring it up._

Of course, telling them was only half the battle. What they were going to do about it was the other, but he figured that the captain would know what to do. He always did.

That thought helped Lucas relax enough to be able to focus on the movie screen, but he realized he'd missed most of the film. He had no idea what was going on, and he was far too embarrassed to ask Nick or Julianna.

Before he knew it, the movie had ended.

"That was awesome!" Nick said as soon as the lights came on. "They left it wide open with that ending, so you know there'll be sequel. I can't wait."

Julianna nodded. "I'll admit, I was a little skeptical about it at first, but I really liked it. Matilda was my favorite character. I love girls that can fight." She smiled and turned to Lucas. "What did you think?"

"Oh, Matilda was great," he agreed.

"I think she meant about the movie itself," Nick replied. "You were the one who was so hyped about seeing it in the first place. Well, did it meet your expectations?"

"Of course it did," Lucas said with a nod. "It was awesome, just like you said."

"What was your favorite part?" Nick asked. "Mine was when Felix cut off that zombie's head."

"That was mine, too," Lucas said, not wanting to admit he hadn't even seen that part. "Felix was my favorite character."

"Mine, too," Nick replied. He placed his hand on his chin. "I think I kind of look like him, don't I?"

Julianna rolled her eyes. "In your dreams. But the night's still young. I don't have to be home until midnight, and neither does Nick. What else should we do?"

Lucas glanced at his watch. It wasn't even ten yet; the movie was only ninety minutes long. He also realized with all the rumor talk, he never got to tell them about the fact he didn't have a curfew at all. "As great as that sounds, I promised the captain I'd be home by eleven. I have an early shift in the lab tomorrow, and I promised I'd be responsible. It's going to take me twenty minutes to get back to the _Stinger_ anyway..."

"Oh, all right," Julianna replied. "Do you want us to walk you back?"

Lucas shook his head. "No, I can manage. Uh, I'll catch you guys on the Internex. And next time we're near Hawaii, I'll be sure to let you know." He kissed Julianna goodbye and gave Nick a wave before leaving the theatre.

 _ _-sQsQsQsQsQsQsQsQsQsQ-__

 _ **seaQuest**_

Lucas had pulled the _Stinger_ back into launch bay before 2300 hours. Since he didn't see any of the senior staff roaming around the halls, he figured they were still in the captain's quarters playing poker. With the magazines under his arm, he knocked on the door. A minute later, Ben answered.

"Hey, Lucas, come in. The more, the merrier." He stepped aside so Lucas could pass.

As expected, the senior staff were seated around the table in the center of the room, cards in hand and chips on the table.

Nathan eyed him carefully. "Didn't you have a good time?"

"Yeah, I did, but you know, I, uh...thought I'd show you how responsible I could be and come back at a decent hour."

Kristin pulled an extra chair up for him. "Well, that's very responsible of you, and we're very proud of you for your wise decision. Why don't you have a seat and we'll deal you in?" She nodded her head to the magazines under his arm. "What have you got there?"

Lucas shrugged as he sat down. "Oh, it's just... Something I want to talk to you guys about, but it can wait until after the game."

"You sure?" Nathan asked as he shuffled the cards. "We were planning on stopping soon anyway. I've nearly cleaned Ben out as it is."

"The game's not over yet, Captain," Ben said with a grin. "My luck could change."

"You're right; it could get worse," Katie replied, giving his arm a playful push.

Lucas forced a smile, stuffing the magazines under his chair for the time being. "Let's just play. I've actually been looking forward to this."

Nathan dealt the cards, and the game got under way. Unfortunately for Lucas, he had a difficult time focusing again, suddenly nervous about having to crush everyone's good moods.

"Hey, Earth to Lucas."

Lucas' head snapped towards Miguel. "Sorry, what?"

"It's your turn. Did you fall asleep there?"

"Oh, uh, sorry," he replied, his cheeks feeling warm. "I guess I spaced out for a minute." He looked at the cards in his hand and then looked around the table again. "I, um..."

"Lucas, are you all right?" the doctor asked, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"I don't..." He laid his cards on the table face down and shook his head. "I'm...I'm sorry, but I can't do this."

"You know if you've got a bad hand, you just exchange your cards for new ones, right?" Ben said. "It hasn't been that long since you've played poker, has it?"

"That's not what I meant," Lucas said with a sigh. "Do you guys mind if we talked instead? You see, I, uh..." His palms suddenly felt sweaty, so he rubbed them on his jeans. "There's a reason I came back early." He reached below his chair and placed the magazines on the table. "Apparently, they...reporters, paparazzi, or whatever you want to call them...are printing all sorts of lies about us. I really didn't want to have to be the one to break the news to any of you, but I figured you ought to know." He bit his bottom lip in worry as each senior staff member picked up a magazine and began leafing through it.

Several minutes passed, and the awkward silence was excruciating, so he finally decided to break it. "I..." His voice caught in his throat, and he cleared it before beginning again. "I am so sorry about all of this. I never wanted you to find out this way, but I didn't know what else to do."

No one answered right away, and he quickly tried to think of something else to say. "Uh, I'm sure-"

To his surprise, however, he heard the doc laugh, and then the captain laughed, and the others around the table joined in.

Lucas' brow furrowed. "I really didn't think it was that funny. Some of the things they've said are horrible."

"We're not laughing at the headlines, kiddo," Nathan replied after a minute. "We're laughing because we already knew."

"You...you did?"

Ben nodded. "I'm surprised you _didn't_ , what with you being on the Internex all the time. There are entire websites built around us. This is old news."

"Well, gamers really don't discuss celebrity gossip," Lucas replied with a shrug. "In fact, I didn't even realize we were celebrities until a couple hours ago."

"We're celebrities to some, even without this kind of publicity," Kristin replied. "Unfortunately, it's not just science and military magazines interested in us. But when you're in the public eye, you have to expect this sort of thing."

"But you know all the publicity isn't bad. Some of those fans are pretty enamored with us," Tim added. "You know there's an entire website based on the romance between the captain and the doctor."

Lucas saw the doctor's face turn red as she crossed her arms over her chest. "I don't even understand how that one started," she said with a sigh. "It all started after the Egyptian conference at Alexandria; some photos of the captain putting his arm around my shoulders emerged, and the press went wild. Everyone is obsessed with our love lives for some reason. There's also one concerning the commander, lieutenant commander, and our supply and morale officer."

"But those are just rumors, right?" Lucas asked. "I mean, if any of you were really dating, the rest of us would know."

"Of course, they're just rumors," Nathan assured him. "And even if there was more going on between any of us, do you think we'd say?"

"Well, I...I don't know..." Lucas stammered. "I just thought..."

Kristin offered him a smile. "I think what the captain is trying to say that if any of us _were_ a couple, we might like a little privacy. It's a small boat, and you all know how gossip can spread down here, but you needn't worry. If it happened, you'd find out eventually."

"She's absolutely right," Nathan agreed. "Since _seaQuest_ is an experimental vessel, our fraternization policies are a bit different than other military entities, but that doesn't mean any of us are involved with one another. We're just friends and coworkers, nothing more."

"Exactly," everyone else chimed in.

"Okay..." Lucas said, picking up the magazine that had the story about his alleged abuse. "But what about this?" He turned to the story and held it out for everyone to see. "Did you know what they were saying?"

"I think I was the one who discovered that first," Miguel said, taking the magazine from him. "Those sorts of stories began showing up after the incident at NODE 3."

"Yeah, that's what Nick and Julianna had said, too," Lucas replied. "So the rest of you knew, too?"

They all nodded quietly.

Lucas' eyes darted from one person to the other. "And you didn't tell me?" He hadn't meant to sound so angry, but he couldn't mask the bitterness in his voice.

"We thought you already knew, kid," Ben replied.

Kristin nodded, putting an arm around his shoulders. "We weren't purposely trying to deceive you, dear. We just assumed..."

"Yeah, you're right. I know you wouldn't purposely lie about something like that. Sorry, but weren't you upset?"

"At first, sure, but after a while, you get over it," Katie said, setting the magazine she'd been looking at back down on the table. "You learn to laugh at yourself, vent to a friend, and move on. It's not like we're ever going to meet the people who really believe this stuff."

"Tell that to Nick and Julianna," Lucas said with a grin. "They had police ready to escort me from the boat if I needed."

"Oh, dear," Kristin muttered. "I'm glad you were able to sort it out."

"Yeah, I set them straight, but... Isn't there something we can do about it? How are they able to print lies like this? Don't _we_ get a say?"

"Hahaha, that's funny," Ben said.

Nathan gave him a look, and Ben stopped laughing. "What Mr. Krieg is trying to say is that tabloid reporters are actually within their rights. First off, these magazines have expert legal teams that know every trick under the sun to keep a court case going for years. Anyone who'd challenge them would waste a lot of money, time, and effort. Also, all they have to do is say they have a source that told them the gossip. That's how all these magazines and newspapers get away with it."

Lucas shook his head. "But some people have challenged them. I've heard about it, and they won. Can't we do the same thing?"

Kristin sighed. "You're right, but those were extreme cases, and there was still a lot of time and money wasted over it."

"Yes, and in our case, the UEO has far more important things to spend their money on," Nathan pointed out. "There's really not much we can do about it, but I hope you don't let it bother you too much."

"It really doesn't bother you guys that they call you monsters?"

"Well, I don't think any one of us appreciates the things they say about us," Kristin replied. "But we have learned to laugh about it, and we've learned to ignore it. Also, _we_ know the truth, so we really don't need to justify our lives to anyone."

Lucas thought for a few minutes before nodding. "Yeah, I guess you're right. I mean, when you think about it, some of these headlines are somewhat amusing. And anyone who really knows us knows better than to believe these stupid lies."

"That's right; our _real_ fans know better," Ben said, waving a hand. "The ones who believe the lies? We don't need them."

"And now that you know about the websites, you could always go online and put the naysayers in their place," Katie said, reaching across the table and putting a hand over Lucas'. "Ben here's truthslayer99. He's set more than one person straight."

"Truthslayer99, huh?" Lucas said thoughtfully. "I'd have never guessed."

"There are tons of things you don't know about me," Ben replied with a shrug. "I'm a man of mystery."

Katie rolled her eyes. "Yeah, right."

Ignoring her comment, Ben turned back to Lucas. "If you're interested in joining me in my quest for spreading the truth around, I can show you the ropes."

"Yeah, okay, sure. Why not?" Lucas said.

Kristin gave his shoulder an encouraging squeeze. "So are you feeling better now?"

"I guess so. The next time I discover an idiotic news story full of lies, I'll just vent to one of you guys." He paused. "I know it's kinda late, but do you mind if we played a hand or two? I really was looking forward to it."

No one objected, so Nathan began shuffling the cards again. "Anything for you, kiddo. There's always time for poker."


End file.
